“It’s like you’re teenagers all over again.” Grandpa shook his head and started for the bathroom. Apparently he’d forgotten that he was avoiding Hunter, because he slowed his pace before he’d gone more than a few steps. “There’s a barbecue at the house this afternoon. I’m sure Stormy has forgotten — or at least wants everyone to believe that — but you’re invited, Hunter. It’s been a long time since you joined us for a family get-together.”
Hunter looked taken aback. “Oh, well, that’s really nice.”
“It’ll be good food.”
I was surprised at Hunter’s reaction. I thought for sure he would shoot Grandpa down right away.
“I would really like to go,” Hunter hedged. “It’s just ... I can’t. I have a date with Monica in a few hours and I don’t think she’ll take it well if I cancel for your family.”
“Probably not,” Grandpa agreed, offering a small smile before turning back to his task. “I’ll be awhile. Don’t wait for me.”
I opened my mouth to tell him to use the bathroom at his own house, but it was too late. He’d slammed the door and was apparently in his own little world. “I need to change the locks,” I muttered. When Hunter didn’t respond, I turned back to see if he’d found the tape measure. Instead, he was holding up a familiar object ... and my heart dropped.
“Oh, geez. I forgot that was even in there.” I felt like an absolute idiot.
Hunter stared at his old letterman’s jacket so long I thought he’d lost the ability to speak. When he did find his voice, it was rusty. “I thought you said you’d lost everything you had from when you were a kid because you moved around so much.”
“No, I said I’d managed to hold on to only a few important things.” I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead as he pinned me with an incredulous stare. “I figured you would want it back one day. I just forgot it was in there.”
That was mostly true, and yet I never forgot to pack the jacket whenever I moved. It was the one tangible tie I had to him throughout the years, and it was one of the few things I guarded with zealous intent.
“You can have it back,” I said quickly, trying to fill the silence. “I mean ... it’s yours.”
He clutched the jacket to his chest and looked momentarily lost. When he finally shook himself from his reverie, his voice was solid again. “We need to find that tape measure. You need those blinds as soon as possible. I also want you to make sure that door is locked at all times.”
“Fine.”
“Promise me.” He was fervent. “Promise me that you’ll do it, Stormy. It’s important.”
I couldn’t hold back my sigh. “I promise. I’ll be more careful about the door. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“That would be a nice change of pace.”
21
Twenty-One
True to his word, Hunter measured the door for the blinds, jotting down the numbers and then warning me about leaving it unlocked again. He promised to return with the blinds as soon as possible.
“Check the locks in the restaurant when you come in,” he warned, serious. “Also, make sure you check the shadows before getting out of your car. In fact ... do you have any pepper spray?”
I nodded. “I do. I bought it when I was hopping from city to city.”
“Then start carrying it.” There was no softness in his attitude and he reacted poorly when I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious. Do you want your grandfather to show up for work one morning and find you in the alley?”
“I ... no.”
“I don’t want it either. So, you’re going to start being careful whether you like it or not. Do you understand?”
I was bitter about being bossed around, but I acquiesced. “I’ll be careful, Hunter.”
“Make sure that you are.” His fingers lightly brushed against my cheek and then he headed for the door to the kitchen. “Tell your grandfather I’m still going to question him about Roy. He can’t live in your bathroom forever.”
I wasn’t sure that was true. “He’d camp out in there all night if it meant avoiding you.”
“Yes, well ... he’s lucky I have other things to do today. Otherwise I would sit here and see how far he wanted to take things.”
“You have a date.” I bobbed my head perfunctorily. “I hope it goes well. How are Monica’s eyebrows, by the way?”
He looked as if he was fighting a chuckle. “I haven’t seen her today, so I can’t say. They were pretty bad last night. I still don’t understand why she blamed you.”
I remembered the jacket just as he was about to escape through the door. “Wait.” I scurried over and collected it, holding it close for a moment before handing it to him. “You don’t want to forget this.”
He hesitated for a second and then reached over to grab it. “I still can’t believe you kept it all this time.”
“Like I said, it wasn’t mine to get rid of. I knew I would eventually find a way to get it back to you.”
“You could’ve just given it to your mother. I know she visited you in a few of those cities. She told me about all of your adventures ... and then complained that you liked dirty cities. She couldn’t understand what you found so fascinating about New Orleans.”
“It has a certain ... appeal.” I graced him with a soft smile. “The music is amazing. You would absolutely love it. The food is to die for, too. Also there’s just this ... atmosphere that’s hard to ignore. Creative people go there. Some perform on the streets. Others pretend they’re human statues in Jackson Square.”
His eyes widened. “And you think that’s cool? Being a human statue, I mean.”
“I think it’s ... magical.” There was that word again. It kept popping up today. “You should visit one day.”
“If you love the city so much, why didn’t you settle there?”
That was a hard question to answer. “Multiple reasons, I guess. The biggest is that I was running out of money. My only other skill is waitressing and it’s impossible to live in the French Quarter if you don’t make a lot of money. Er, well, unless you want to live in a one-bedroom hole. That kind of takes the fun out of it.”
“So, what? Are you going to stay here, get back on your feet, write another hit book and then return to New Orleans?”
At one time, that was the plan. It seemed a distant fantasy now, though. “I don’t know. I haven’t written anything in months. It could be that I’m here forever.”
His eyes flashed with something — hope maybe — and then his features evened out. “You can go on vacation. You can live here and still visit there.”
“And that might be the path my future holds. Right now things feel ... unsettled. I don’t know what to do. I mean, the apartment is nice — and I can’t complain about the price because Grandpa is doing his best to work with me — but I want someplace to call my own eventually.”
“Like the Sanderson place.”